The totally incorrect way to get off a bike (volumes 1 and 2)

First topic message reminder :

I was hoping to never have to post this, but I had an unscheduled dismount on Monday making this my first biking accident. :(

Not sure exactly what happened which is making it even more frustrating for me. I didn’t have my video recorder with me, so can’t review that, but do have the SatNav track (time, distances and speed).

I was in Tonbridge, Kent an hour into my ride - had just turned left through a light controlled junction, accelerated up to 28 mph; could see a car parked on the pavement (boot open and the driver walking about) and there was a car in front of me, I slow down to 19 mph. Now the bits I have little or no recollection, I have no idea why I don’t seem realise the car is slowing right down and actually came to a halt. I don’t see any indicator just a brake light which suddenly came on. The log shows I was doing 0.8 mph when I touched the car bumper.
I hear a loud bang as my helmet and shoulder protector hit the road, boy did I hit the deck hard. I can hear the bike engine still running but can’t immediately stand up. Don’t know if my leg was pinned under the bike, but I have no pain or marks on my legs or leathers. The guy parked on the pavement comes over and helps me pick the bike up, I see the red (oil) light on and can smell petrol – I think I hit the kill switch, but maybe the still in gear engine died when the ‘spinning’ back wheel touched the ground.

So it was a slow speed bump, so not much damage right? Well the car bumper has a mark on it possibly from the tyre or the mudguard which can be rubbed out, the bike has a broken mudguard and some scratches on the fairing and the engine cover, a slight mark on the exhaust, the indicator popped out, but I think that is back in place and the mirror has pushed in on the ball joint but not broken. My leathers and boots are unmarked, but my lid has a bit of the paint missing and part of the shell is exposed. My shoulder protector either saved me from more serious damage or was the cause of my injury, but for now all I know is my shoulder is a bit sore and don’t feel that good when moving it about and am becoming aware that my left thumb is sore. I don't know if the fork's rebounded giving my thumb a good 'kick' and maybe had something to do with me hitting the ground so hard.

I ride the 30 miles home, bike rides fine – I’m OK as long as I don’t hit a bump. Decided that I’d go straight to A&E near home -this is no easy decision- the place has a horrendous reputation and the nick name given by healthcare professionals does not instil any confidence, May Die (its proper name is Mayday!) , but already started doubting my choice when I got off the bike. The adrenaline had begun to wear off and I was in some pain.

During my near 2 hour wait to be seen, I go to the loo and I discover I have no power in my right arm and my left thumb is extremely sore and near useless when I try and zip up. I could hardly walk back out into the waiting room with the zip down, nor could I casually ask anyone in there ‘mind helping me with my fly mate?’ Using both hands I get the zipper sorted, and go and sit down with tears in my eyes.

Eventually get seen and find I have dislocated my shoulder, they didn’t bother looking at my thumb. I have been given a bit of cloth which was tied around my neck and finished off with a safety pin, not sure if this little touch was to neaten up the mess or to stop my elbow from sliding out. Was told I can take whatever pain killers I have at home and come back in a few weeks when it is better so they can close the file. Arrgh, don’t know why I bothered.

Time to put the jacket back on and go home, I knew this was going to hurt, stood in the corner where no one would see me and ‘yanked’ it on, but I couldn’t do up the zip. Then I find I can’t lift my arm to put my helmet on, umm plan 2, put helmet face first on the saddle, hold with my left hand and push my head into it. Right glove goes on, but can’t get the left one on. I can’t let this beat me now, sod it one glove on one glove off, open jacket and unstrapped helmet, off I go –its only 2-3 miles home.
5 Hours after the incident I’m home and take the first painkillers.

I do hope this isn’t going to be like punctures. I went for 30 years without any then 3 in 4 years. I found I don’t bounce well and can hurt myself at less than 1mph, don’t want to imagine what it’d be like if I was going any faster.

Just back from London seeing a private specialist.

Well I have done a very good job of it and have managed to achieve a grade 5 injury, that would usually mean 'follow me down to theatre'. My chances of a normal recovery have slipped from 80% to 50% or less :(

He ruled out physio being of any help, actually thinks it would cause more harm. I should rather let it try and sort itself out and maybe, just maybe it'll heal otherwise it is a case of what I'm prepared to live with - when I've had enough, just give him a call

Apparently I shouldn't have tried to do too much, like ride the bike for 8 weeks. He was very surprised I managed an hours' ride (didn't tell him about the 1 1/2 first trip!). I further surprised him when leaving by swinging my rucksack over my affected shoulder, mind you I've only been able to do that for the last few days, oh and I ought to avoid press ups - - oops .

Well this guy can talk from experience, he has separated both of his shoulders one playing rugby and the other skiing! Had a look at my left thumb, yip, have sprained it

I think what has saddened me most about all of this is at the time 3 doctors (one being my GP) either missed or actively dismissed my being concussed. It is too late for an MRI scan now, not there's much between the ears anyway. I seemed to have recovered from that nasty period OK though

The real concern is endurance, I may have to say goodbye to the longer rides :( . So far I'm doing things I ought not, lets hope it keeps up (why does that sound wrong somehow)

You wouldn't get an MRI for a head injury Steve, we CT scan If there's signs of significant head injury, but a bleed from a head injury shows itself usually 24-48 hours and sometimes up to a week afterwards and most of the time the signs & symptoms of concussion are barn door and not easily missed.

Pleased to see your on the mend but think carefully about the op because as time goes on you may get scar tissue and therefore get chronic pain, reduced mobility and long term problems.

On that happy note I hope your back up to full speed real soon xxx

Well just when you thought it was safe this pops up again :o


Just back from seeing the physiotherapist, eventually decided best I accept the treatment. Bottom line is he won't be able to sort me out, he says only a fusion would help :( however I will be doing some strengthening exercises and hopefully will improve enough for me to get on with my life - really don't like the idea of surgery.

Just to add insult to injury he noticed some other problems I have and was mumbling about it not being too late to rectify, also partially caught something about wearing a raised shoe I have been aware that I've had scoliosis for most of my life and it has never worried me. I don't think it is noticeable these days, but in my early biking 'career' people often commented on the fact I never sat straight on a bike was always lopsided towards the left.

Right now I don't know where this leaves my biking future, might not be able to do the distances I used to any more. The last weekend outing to Royal Wootten Bassett took it out of me and still haven't recovered 2 days later. Have my name down for a machine control day this Saturday, will have to see how I manage with that - do know I won't be able to pick up a bike though. :(

Sounds like you've really been through the wars!

Hope things work out well with the exercises.


Andy.

Keep your chin up Steve (and not the left...) I'm sure where there is a will there is a way. Don't let anything hold you back but maybe get all the treatments you can get as your health is important!

I am a strong believer that people can do anything they want if they really try, regardless of age! Im sure it will all work out for the best mate

Hope you can get something sorted out Steve - physio or more invasive stuff - as long as it gets you feeling more like the old (or should that be young?) you.

Cheers

Billy

PS Karen says Hi and hope you are feeling pain free soon.

sorry to hear your still on the long road to recovery m8
hope alls goe,s well if your on your way tup north you can break the trip up & stay with us take care m8 all the best
pete

Hi Steve,

Sorry to hear about your woes. I endorse what Mr France has to say. If you can take it step by step that's the best way forward. Mind you not being able to do your inter-stellar distances doesn't sound too much of a hardship - you'll just be like the rest of us!

All the best,
Chris

Really sorry to hear of the woes Steve.

I must admit that when I first read your post I thought it was to do with Rum intake as I read Cirrhosis and not Scoliosis.
As regards the raised shoe I wouldn't worry about that - I've been telling DBD he needs two of them for years.

Sincerely hope you mend as well as possible and well enough to join the rest of the clan on a ride-out sometime in the near future as we all know you're the original marathon man when it comes to ride outs.
Tracey and Callum pass on their best wishes too.

Take care
Ross

I hope it all works out for you Steve, keep doing those press ups

Best of luck with your recovery, sincerely hope everything goes well and without comprimise

Aye, bad news indeed.

A mate of mine had to give up due to severe back problems (he was an instructor), but strangely it didn't stop him taking up mountain biking.
(Maybe it's because you're on the balls of your feet most of the time doing that.. I dunno.)

If the worst comes to the worst, punt the bike and buy a wee MX5 to blast around in.

Thank you all for your kind words, wishes and offers.

Yeah Paul, where there is a will there usually is a relative. Sometimes the MoJo gets knocked to bits and is difficult to be positive. You are right, with the right mental attitude almost anything can be done.

I spun around Ross when he said Scoliosis to make sure I heard right , not that I was thinking Cirrhosis

I will keep doing the press-ups Nick, otherwise if I can't nor am able to ride the bike much I'd might as well go and stand at the exit right now

Day 1 of exercises using what looks like a thin inner tube, hopefully it is day one to a stronger arm, as easy as it looks, I can feel the pull in the shoulder. As they say no pain no gain!!

My own take on rehab is to get on the bike and gradually start going a bit further afield, guess if I can't manage the epic distances again I'll have to come to terms with it, but at least I have seen quite a bit.
Maybe I'll have to do like some 'bike travelogues' do 80-100 miles a day [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

would some gentle swimming be any good for you? my physio recommends it for my back, might be worth a look see

The "bike tube" exercise - is that the one where you keep the elbow bent at 90deg and roll our wrist away from the body? If so I've had to do that since my off (18 stone from 30ish mph onto my shoulder) it hurts like buggery to start with but it really does work. I found a good chiropractor too who helps me with my shoulder mobility. I never dislocated mine but I did do major rotator cuff damage and like you lost all the strength in my arm. But with those exercises and some regular manipulation I started to get the mobility back and the strength is returning too ( wasn't able to lift a battery drill of the workbench for a while)

Fingers crossed for you!

How long have you been doing the exercises Mac Jock?

I have my elbow 'locked' into my side/fat lump. Rubber 'band' wrapped around both hands and then with the affected arm 'swing' my hand away from me (right arm, moving to my right) keeping the elbow in place, almost like a hinge.
Second one is to tie the band to something I can find to my right and do it in reverse, pull with my hand across my body - that the one that really hurts and I can feel the shoulder instability.

I find that even holding my helmet can be too much after a short period of time. Also am getting some twisting movement back, I wasn't able to open a jar for ages and even now it can be a problem if on too tight.

Thanks Dave, my bath is a bit small though I have a rowing machine which has options for all sorts of different kinds of exercises and was hoping I could use it... no interest whatsoever, the physiotherapist didn't want to know.. was his way or no way, so for now sniffing out a pool would be frowned upon, but worth while keeping in mind, thanks.

I've been doing them since September. Every morning & night for this first month and it really help. I found that in mid October I wasn't getting a lot out of it so stopped them, which was a mistake as the shoulder started to seize up again. I now do them once a day - only 5 or 10 reps and I've been advised to keep doing them for the foreseeable future as it's not a normal motion and does help.

That said I'm now also lifting a 10kg weight with that arm.

I was also shown how to rotate my arms correctly to reduce the strain (roll the shoulders back to open up the joint before lifting the arms) which helps a lot - even just that rolling action helps relieve the pain (especially after a ride) as does doing some of thoses exercises (even without the band)

Just when you thought this had gone away !!

Final visit to the Consultant today - actually in 18 or so months I've been going it was the first time I saw him!!

He was in a particularly good mood, and said he'll be extremely happy operating on me Naturally that would inflict pain on me for 8 weeks or so. I discovered his euphoria wasn't because he had a money making victim in his grasp (the more he makes, he says is more for his wife and the tax man to spend) - but rather that it was his birthday, he's two days older than me.

My two MRI scans over the past 6 months have shown whatever is wrong isn't getting any worse. I will have to adjust my life to a somewhat disconnected right shoulder/arm.

Yip, I'm a wuss and taking my chances without the trauma of a non guaranteed operation.

Will rather take things a bit more sedately. Not so many 'manic' miles - Ireland last year brought that home. I'm not going to stop going far and wide, maybe taking longer over it

Well Steve if your ever passing by my house, always a bed here for the night for you, and a warm garage for your bike mate!!

Bummer news Steve but I suppose you'll always find a way if you really want to get out and perhaps put up with a bit of grief later.

I'm back at the consultants on the 20th, after my "self inflicted" surgery on my hand last year it's still not right and I'm now having residual burning pain in my left hand. My own doctor feels I may have suffered some nerve damage due to the amount of time the tourniquet was on my arm.... Will have to say what Mr F says :(

Snowcat wrote:Bummer news Steve but I suppose you'll always find a way if you really want to get out and perhaps put up with a bit of grief later.

I told the consultant that I'm out on the bike, if I can't do that then he might as well send me straight to life's exit. He went silent at that thought, but did have a quip of 'he has a friend to help with my fat gut'

As I always say, where's there's a will there's a relative

Cheshirecat wrote:Well Steve if your ever passing by my house, always a bed here for the night for you, and a warm garage for your bike mate!!

You are too kind sir, especially the warm garage

Well, I think I'd be a wuss too. These operations don't often come with a guarantee. But only you know how you feel.
Glad to hear it won't stop you getting out and about. Hope to see you soon. Well, as soon as this white stuff disappears!
Chris

Hi Steve, not too sure where to start with this, but hope what I do say might be of some help or at least encouragement. You might recall that I had surgery on my right shoulder last Aug. Under the umbrella of "torn rotator cuff" I think this term covers just about any muscle tear in the shoulder area. In my case the muscle had come away from the bone to which it should be attached, and the op required the muscle to be "anchored" (their discription, not mine) back to the bone. I had heard all sorts of horror stories about what a painfull procedure this was, but was in a lot of discomfort, and had to accept that something had to be done. So woke up after the op, all trussed up like a kipper, and back home, (was in for just 1/2 day) They pump you full of morphine so there's no pain but this wears of after about 2 days. I was provided with a supply of pain killers, but managed to wean myself off them after about a week. I was provided with a sling, and managed to do without that after about 5 days, but did wear it on occasions when the shoulder began to ache. started driving after about 10 days, but tried not to use my right side to much, and was riding the bike a month later. Saw rhe surgeon 2 weeks ago, and he's signed me off. I've got complete movement of the shoulder, and virtually no pain. So me old mate go for it, its not as bad as they say. Oh just one other thing, I found that the physio afterwards was a complete waste of time. I found that just doing the things you would normally do, were better than the excersises I was given. I appreciate we are all different, with different pain thresholds etc. But if you get a similar outcome to mine I'm sure you will be delighted. All the best. T

Thanks Chris

Tes, that sounds very good indeed. I think in my case there was a 3 week window of opportunity to do keyhole surgery to affix the torn bits back. Naturally I found out about this way after the 'offer expired'. Seems the remedy now is bone removal, pushing the collar bone down and I think pinning or bolting the remains together.

Thank you for your encouragement , I'll hope for a similar outcome if it starts to get too much for me in future. For now I can live with it, a constant nag - but map that out. I very quickly know if I've overdone it though.
I too found the physio a complete waste - in fact very little had to do with the injury.